People look at Sessilanoid, a sculpture by James Peterson of Los Angeles at the Grand Rapids Art Museum during ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Friday, Sept. 20, 2013. / Romain Blanquart, Detroit Free Press

by Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press

by Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press

DETROIT -- ArtPrize, the lucrative art competition in Grand Rapids, Mich., best known for its $200,000 grand prize awarded by public vote, is recalibrating its delicate balance between populism and connoisseurship.

The competition announced a restructuring of its awards Thursday, doubling the top juried prize from $100,000 to $200,000 and recasting its other prizes. While the total purse remains the same at $560,000, the money will now be equally split among winners chosen by art experts and those selected by the public. In the past, a clear majority of the prize money was decided by popular vote.

The changes elevate the role that expert opinion will play in the competition and may help attract more attention in the professional art world, which has often been suspicious of the populist profile that has defined ArtPrize since its started in 2009. One of the major challenges for ArtPrize has been finding ways to attract better artists and increase the quality of art on view without mortgaging the democratic ethos that's built into the competition's DNA.

"The updates to the awards structure and equal grand prizes have the potential to change the dynamic of the event by exploring the tension between public and expert opinion," ArtPrize executive director Christian Gaines said in a statement.

The annual 19-day competition, founded by Rick DeVos, has become a signature cultural event in Grand Rapids, showcasing some 1,500 works of art by roughly 1,800 artists from all over the world. The art is concentrated in the downtown center of the city, stuffed into museums, galleries, restaurants, banks, stores, street corners, civic buildings and plazas, parks and just about everywhere else. The event attracts some 400,000 visitors. Votes are cast via smart phone, text message and the Internet.

In other changes for 2014, artists will submit their work into one of four categories: two-dimensional, three-dimensional, time-based or installation. Eight $20,000 category awards will be given out, four decided by public vote and four by expert jury.

ArtPrize remains among the most lucrative art competitions in the world. This year's event is scheduled for Sept. 24-Oct. 12.